Accademia Carrara
Picture gallery of Bergamo founded in 1796 by Giacomo Carrara, with masterpieces by Pisanello, Mantegna, Bellini, Raphael, Botticelli and Lorenzo Lotto.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The Accademia Carrara was founded in 1796 by Count Giacomo Carrara, who left his art collection to the city of Bergamo together with the means to create a school of painting. Today it is considered a museum of Italian collecting, because its collections arose from the bequests of numerous patrons.
The collection includes paintings from the 15th to the 19th century. Among the great names represented are Pisanello, Mantegna, Bellini, Raphael, Botticelli, Lorenzo Lotto, Giovan Battista Moroni, Evaristo Baschenis and Fra Galgario, with particular emphasis on Bergamasque and Lombard painting.
The complex also includes the Giardini PwC, a romantic park with a bistrot and a walkway linking it to the rooms, which are open free of charge. The museum offers inclusion routes, including guided tactile tours led by blind people and tours in Italian Sign Language.
Highlights
- Works by Lorenzo Lotto and Giovan Battista Moroni
- Paintings by Pisanello, Mantegna and Bellini
- Masterpieces by Raphael and Botticelli
- Still lifes by Evaristo Baschenis
- Giardini PwC with bistrot
Permanent exhibition
- Collezione permanente – Paintings from the 15th to the 19th century in the picture gallery, with masterpieces by Lotto, Moroni, Mantegna, Raphael and Botticelli.
- Founded
- 1796
- Operated by
- Fondazione Accademia Carrara
- Visitors per year
- approx. 120,000
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €10 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €8people over 65, booked groups, teachers of art history, armed forces and police, ATB and TEB employees and season-ticket holders, holders of some partner cards |
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 17 · Free admission for under-18s. |
| Visitors with disabilities | freeFree admission for visitors with disabilities. |
| Students & apprentices | €5Special fare of €5 for young people aged 18 to 25 (Giovani in Carrara programme) and for residents of RSA (residential care homes). |
| Groups | €8 per personMuseum only €8 per person; museum and exhibitions €13. Booking mandatory, maximum 30 people including the guide; advance-sale fees €1.50 per person (€1 per student); radio guide mandatory for adult groups (€1 per person). |
| Open ticket (valid on any date and time) | €11Surcharge of €1 on the standard ticket |
| Promo Territorio (residents of Bergamo, Clusone, San Pellegrino and Scanzorosciate) | €8 |
Free admission also for ICOM members and holders of the Carrara Card, friends of the Carrara, students and teachers of the Politecnico delle Arti di Bergamo, tourist guides and journalists, group companions, as well as fathers and mothers on their respective feast days and anyone on their own birthday. Holders of museum passes for Lombardy, Piedmont and Aosta Valley, and of the Artigiano Card, enter free.
Accessibility
- Partially wheelchair accessible
- Elevator
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits
- Sign language tours
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
Two manual wheelchairs are available; two lifts serve the first and second floors. The main entrance has five steps without a handrail and three more before the door; from the side gate there is a ramp, and staff open the side door when visitors arrive. Three reserved spaces about 50 m away on Via San Tomaso. Valori tattili project with guided tours led by blind people; LIS tours and LIS video guides. The garden is not accessible to people with mobility disabilities.
Kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 17 |
|---|
- Baby changing facilities
Changing tables in the toilets on the ground floor and on the second floor. A section of the website is dedicated to children and families.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Porta Sant'Agostino
ATB buses: line 1 (Porta Sant’Agostino stop); lines C, 6, 7 and 9 (Piazzale Oberdan or Via Suardi stop). Line 1 also connects Bergamo-Orio al Serio airport (about 5 km).
By car
Parking available
Parking Preda (Via Pitentino 14/D, paid); free parking near the stadium, not available on Saturdays and on match days.
- Accessible parking
The railway station is about a 30-minute walk away.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
- Café
- Restaurant
- Museum shop
- Coat check
- Lockers
- Wi-Fi
Free Wi-Fi for visitors. Bù Bistrot in Carrara in the Giardini PwC, open from breakfast to dinner. Bookshop run by Silvana Editoriale. Free cloakroom with lockers: backpacks, umbrellas, helmets and luggage larger than 35 × 30 × 10 cm must be left there.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Audio guide | yes |
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Audio guide with 16 sections, available at the ticket office or on your own smartphone. Group guided tours on booking: from €100 (90 minutes) to €220 (180 minutes including the historic centre). Group call centre: +39 035 492 0090 (Monday–Friday 9:00–18:00, Saturday 9:00–13:00). |
